Glossary/Privacy & Identity/Mobile Ad ID (MAID / IDFA / GAID)
Privacy & Identity
Mobile Ad ID (MAID / IDFA / GAID)
Device-level advertising identifiers on iOS (IDFA) and Android (GAID).
By Brandon Mina·CEO, BrandPilot AI·Updated November 2026
Short answer
A mobile ad ID (MAID) is a device-level advertising identifier, known as IDFA on Apple iOS and GAID on Google Android. Apps and ad networks use it for targeting, frequency capping and attribution. Users can reset or limit it, and Apple requires apps to ask permission before accessing IDFA for tracking.